Support mounts for boost in troops

U.S. commanders in Iraq, including Casey, want more fresh combat forces.

U.S. commanders in Iraq, including Casey, want more fresh combat forces.

December 23, 2006|JULIAN E. BARNES Los Angeles Times

WASHINGTON -- Top U.S. military commanders in Iraq have decided to recommend a "surge" of fresh American combat forces, eliminating one of the last remaining hurdles to proposals being considered by President Bush for a troop increase, a defense official familiar with the plan said Friday. The approval of a troop increase plan by top Iraq commanders, including Gen. George W. Casey Jr. and Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, comes days before Bush unveils a new course for the troubled U.S. involvement in Iraq. Bush still must address concerns among some Pentagon officials and overcome opposition from Congress, where many Democrats favor a blue-ribbon commission's recommendation for a gradual withdrawal of combat troops. But the recommendation by the commanders in Iraq is significant because Bush has placed prime importance on their advice. The U.S. command in Iraq decided to recommend an increase of troops several days ago, prior to meetings in Baghdad this week with Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, the defense official said. Gates, who returned to Washington on Friday, will join Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley in meetings with President Bush Saturday at Camp David. White House press secretary Dana Perino said the meeting was part of the Iraq strategy review, and Bush was not expected to make a final decision on the administration's new policy. Commanders have been skeptical of the value of increasing troops, and the decision represents a reversal for Casey, the highest ranking officer in Iraq. Casey and Gen. John P. Abizaid, the top commander in the Middle East who will step down in March, have long resisted adding more troops in Iraq, arguing that it could delay the development of Iraqi security forces and increase anger at the United States in the Arab world. The defense official said commanders have not determined the exact number of extra troops they will request. Military officers have debated an increase of about 20,000, about five extra combat brigades. But while some officers think five extra brigades would be difficult to muster, others believe more troops will be required. "People are warming to the realization that some sort of surge is necessary," said another military official. The officials spoke on the condition their names not be revealed because Bush has not announced a final decision on his Iraq policy. Bush recently called for an increase in the overall size of the Army and Marine Corps. But he stressed he has not made a decision on whether to send more troops to Iraq and wants to speak further with Gates. Some members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff remain skeptical of a surge, unconvinced that it will yield more positive results than other recent military operations to secure Baghdad or Iraq. But other military officers have said that a buildup in troops is America's last chance to roll back the sectarian violence, neutralize the insurgency and strengthen the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Many military officers maintain there is no middle ground strategy for Iraq, and that United States must either increase the force, gambling that the military can impose a measure of security on Iraq, or else begin to withdraw its forces. Those skeptical about the efficacy of an increase argue that any new troops must be given clear instructions. However, defense officials say the U.S. commanders in Iraq have not settled on what that mission should be, although they are expected to decide before calling up new units. Gates may have been alluding to that on Friday, when he told reporters he has asked Casey to make specific recommendations on how to improve security in Iraq and to work with Iraqi military leaders to "put flesh on those bones" of a new security plan. "There is still some work to be done between Gen. Casey and his counterparts in the Iraqi government," Gates said. "But I do expect to give a report to the president on what I have learned and my perceptions." Iraqi politics will be a key factor in deciding how to use extra U.S. military force. American diplomats are trying to engineer an ouster of the political faction of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr from the government and are trying to help set up a moderate coalition of Kurds, Sunnis and Shiites that is more willing to confront al-Sadr's militias. The U.S. military now considers forces loyal to al-Sadr to be the top threat to the security of Iraq. Al-Sadr controls 30 seats in the Iraqi parliament and six Cabinet seats in the current government, although the al-Sadr loyalists have been boycotting the government in protest of al-Maliki's meeting with Bush in Jordan in November. Military officials were dismayed that one of the country's most influential clerics, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, did not immediately back efforts to establish a new coalition government. If al-Sistani insists that al-Sadr remain within the Shiite coalition, it would represent a blow to the U.S. goal of marginalizing the radical cleric. "The goals are tied to the palace intrigue," the military official said. "We are watching them carefully." A troop buildup has sparse political support, but is backed by Sen. John McCain R-Ariz., considered a front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination. Key Democratic lawmakers and some Pentagon officials, however, remain skeptical. Sen. Carl Levin D-Mich., the incoming chairman of the Senate Armed Services committee, is among those pushing for a timetable for withdrawal -- not a buildup of forces. Several members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff also have expressed reservations. Because the Joint Chiefs are not part of the military's formal chain of command, the recommendation to increase or decrease will go from commanders in Iraq to Gates and then to Bush. But the Joint Chiefs retain an important advisory role. Gen. James T. Conway, the new commandant of the Marine Corps and a member of the Joint Chiefs, emphasized the drawbacks of a surge in public comments last week. "We would fully support, I think, as the Joint Chiefs, the idea of putting more troops into Iraq if there is a solid military reason for doing that, if there is something to be gained," he said. "We do not believe that just adding numbers for the sake of adding numbers -- just thickening the mix -- is necessarily the way to go."